SEPT. 10, 1972: DAY 16

HEADLINES

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The Great Gold Robbery

The long count came to basketball. With three seconds put back on the clock--not once, but twice--the Soviet Union finally scored the winning basket in a 51-50 victory over the United States that remains one of the most controversial games in Olympic history. It was the first loss for the United States since basketball became an Olympic sport in 1936. The U.S. players to this day have not accepted their silver medals.

Shorter Wins Marathon;

U.S. Takes Sprint Relay

Frank Shorter, a wispy, mustachioed Yale graduate, won the marathon by more than two minutes. He entered the stadium moments after a runner wearing No. 72, a 16-year-old West German student who managed to penetrate heavy security and run almost an entire lap before he was stopped. The United States won the 400-meter relay. That was particularly gratifying to Eddie Hart, who had been disqualified from the 100 after arriving late for the start of his second-round heat. Finland’s Lasse Viren, who had fallen yet still won the 10,000 meters 11 days before, completed the double by winning the 5,000.

The United States’ Steve Prefontaine, a cult hero among the U.S. running community and the man for whom the original Nike shoes were made, forced the pace entering the final mile, then paid for it by fading and finishing fourth. He died at 24 in an automobile crash on May 30, 1975.

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MEDALS

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*--* Country G S B T Soviet Union 50 27 22 99 United States 33 30 30 93 East Germany 20 23 23 66

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QUOTE

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“I’m going to go out with the Finns and Britons and have a few beers. That’s what the Olympics are all about.�

--Steve Prefontaine after his fourth-place finish in the 5,000.